With a no-movement clause in his contract, Michal Handzus was able to dictate where he would go in a trade.

That turned out to be the Blackhawks, who sent a fourth-round draft pick to the Sharks on Monday for Handzus, a veteran center general manager Stan Bowman hopes will help in the faceoff circle and killing penalties.

"They're a great team and they're up there in the standings, so that's one thing," Handzus said of his reasons for agreeing to join the Hawks. "(And) I played for Joel (Quenneville) and I know the guys. I'd been there for one year, so I have familiarity with the city and organization.

"The main thing is they're a great team and I wanted to go to the best team I can."

Handzus, 36, had one goal and one assist and was a minus-9 in 28 games with the Sharks this season. He won 55.6 percent of his faceoffs while averaging 13 minutes, 32 seconds of ice time.

"I kill penalties, and if I have a chance, I can play power play," said Handzus, who is in the final year of a $2.5 million contract. "I'll try to fit in any way I can."

The Hawks acquired Handzus in 2006 from the Flyers, but he suffered an ACL injury eight games into the season and did not return. After leaving to play for the Kings, he signed a two-year contract with the Sharks.

"He could choose where he was going to go once (the Sharks) decided to trade him, and it was clear he wanted to come to Chicago, so that means a lot to us," Bowman said.

To make room on the roster, winger Brandon Bollig was reassigned to Rockford.